For a variety of reasons, it is useful to affix identification labels to tires. For instance, such identification labels could be used to determine the tire's date of manufacture, the plant in which it was built and even the tire building machine on which it was constructed. Identification labels could also be used in tracking the tire through its line of distribution to the ultimate purchaser.
It is important for a tire identification label to be highly durable. This is because it may be important to read the identification label after the tire has been in service on a vehicle for many years. Truck tires are frequently retreaded on multiple occasions and it is important for the identification label to be capable of surviving such retreading operations. It is also important for the identification label to be capable of being easily read. In many cases it will be important for the identification label to be capable of being read by a computer as well as human readable.
Identification labels are a tool which can be used to reduce delays and errors associated with transcribing information. Besides increasing productivity through automated factory sorting, identification labels make it possible to collect more detailed information with greater accuracy and minimal effort.
Conventional systems for affixing labels to tires have proven not to be totally satisfactory. For instance, labels are often affixed to the tread area of tires utilizing standard adhesives. However, such labels are not durable and are not intended to survive pass the point at which the tire is sold to the ultimate customer. Even though current technology exists for permanently affixing identification to tires, such techniques have not been widely implemented. For instance, serial numbers can be molded into tire sidewalls but such a procedure is highly labor intensive and costly. In any case, current technology does not provide an inexpensive means of applying durable identification labels to tires.